Rest in Peace.

Hard not to smile when you think of Dom DeLuise.

The man could take a slap and keep laughing.  He had a great laugh.

Today’s news is powered by a big Happy 78th birthday wish to Willie Mays:

• Alex Rodriguez’s daily rehab update (soon to be a major motion picture!):

New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez homered twice and played seven innings in the field for the second straight day in an extended spring training game on Tuesday.

Sidelined since undergoing right hip surgery on March 9, the third baseman could rejoin the Yankees for Friday night’s game at Baltimore. A-Rod said a return date has not been finalized.

“I have no idea about Friday,” said Rodriguez, scheduled to play in another extended spring training game Wednesday. “I’m feeling good.”

Rodriguez went 3-for-6 with two homers to center — including one that cleared a 40-foot-high batter’s eye — and also lined a single. He had two plays at third, fielding a grounder and making a spin move to throw out Philadelphia minor leaguer Nerio Rios at first.

• Jorge Posada takes his strained hamstring to the 15-day DL.  Here’s a little info on just what a hamstring strain is.
• Rainy days and Mondays (when it rains incessantly to the point that some fans think the game has been called, only to find it hasn’t been called . . . and that aren’t allowed back in the Stadium . . .) always get me down:

Hundreds of irate fans – some who claim Yankee employees told them the game had been rained out – stormed away from Yankee Stadium before Monday night’s game against the Red Sox even got underway and couldn’t get back in, resulting in a an ugly scene at one of the ticket gates.

With rain falling for hours and no start time announced until shortly before 9 p.m., hordes of fans began leaving the Stadium and heading home – some who said they had been advised that the game had been called by Yankee employees who walked the concourse holding pinstriped “How may I help you?” signs.

When a 9:20 p.m. start time was eventually announced over the public address system, a crowd on the sidewalk outside Gate 6 tried to get back into the Stadium, only to have the employees working the turnstiles promptly close the doors in their faces. Panicked fans began racing up and down the sidewalk, trying to find a way back into the ballpark, while others remained at Gate 6 either pleading or demanding to be let back in.

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On Tuesday morning I walked up 161st street, away from the two Yankee Stadiums, on my way to jury duty. Once you reach the Grand Concourse, up the hill and four blocks east of River Avenue, you can still look into the upper deck of the old stadium, the blue seats flaking away in the distance.

It was raining, a gray spring morning. I heard a woman curse. Sharply. (I always tense up when I see a parent getting on their kids in public.) She was not far in front of me and she was yelling at her son walking next to her. He could not have been older than five. Wearing a napsack, carrying her purse and holding an umbrella, he struggled to keep up with her. Just as he caught up, she’d pull ahead, he’d fall behind and again and he’d trot ahead.

“Don’t drop my f***ing purse.”

A smaller boy hung from around her neck. The mother adjusted her hands in a tight clasp behind her back to hold him up. I stood next to them as we waited for the light to change on the Concourse. I held my umbrella over her head. She looked up at me and smiled. She was young with a round face and dark, exotic, Spanish good looks, the kind that makes guys do dumb things. Mascara ran down her cheek. She smiled at me and asked if I would put her young son’s jacket hood over his head.

The small boy hanging around her neck smiled at me, his face splattered with rain drops. So did his brother who was holding the umbrella. It never ceases to amaze me how resilient kids are, I thought. Both boys were beautiful, their smiles without open and innocent. I told the older kid that he was a good man. The mother explained that the little one had lost his shoe as they were getting off the subway.

“Fell between the car and the platform, right on the tracks.”

I looked down at his wet sock then back up at his face. He was having a fine time. As we crossed the street she said she was headed for the dollar store to get him a pair of flip flops. The little one’s name is Cassius. The older one is Evander.

“Big boxing fan, huh?” I said.

“Well, when he was going to be born we couldn’t figure a name. I was in the hospital reading an Entertainment Weekly magazine and I see the name Evander and I ask my friends, and they liked it so he’s Evander. Then with the baby I figured to keep it like a theme so he’s Cassius.”

We went our separate ways without saying goodbye as we passed the Concourse Plaza, a block-long building on the east side of the Grand Concourse. It used to be a fancy hotel. Babe Ruth stayed there. Now it is an assisted-living facility. From the top floors, I’m sure there is still a clear view of the upper deck of the vacant Stadium. The thought of old people looking out at empty, paint-chipped seats, waiting for the wrecking ball, brought to mind the the loneliness of an Edward Hopper painting.

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Jorge Posada tweaked his already-tender right hamstring while sliding into second base in the sixth inning of last night’s game. He had an MRI this morning, which revealed a Grad 2 strain, and was placed on the 15-day disabled list soon after. He’s likely to miss a month if not more. The Yankees had hoped to get an offensive boost with Alex Rodriguez’s return from hip surgery, likely on Friday, but with Posada out, Rodriguez’s return will merely return the Yankees to the status quo, as Rodriguez will be hard pressed to out perform the .312/.402/.584 line Posada has put up thus far this season.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that the status quo is pretty darn good. Entering tonight’s game, the Yankees are tied with the Texas Rangers for the second most runs scored per game in the American League behind the overachieving Blue Jays. The Yankees’ 5.84 R/G is nearly a run better than their mark from 2008 (4.87 R/G, seventh in the AL), and is evenly split between home (5.8 R/G) and the road (5.87 R/G). Also, Rodriguez is going to be in the lineup more often than Posada, who had been on pace for 115 games between catcher and DH.

It’s still bad news, but it’s not as devastating as Posada’s shoulder injury was last year because of the additions of Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher, and the rebounds of Robinson Cano, Hideki Matsui and, thus far, Melky Cabrera. It’s also good news that we’re talking about a fairly routine hamstring injury and not a recurrence of Posada’s shoulder woes.

Still, losing Posada for any length of time creates a hole in the lineup. Jose Molina’s .257/.333/.343 line looks robust next to his 2008 performance (.216/.263/.313), but it’s simply replacement level rather than well below and falls short of what the Yankees had been getting from Ramiro Peña (.313/.371/.344), though the bottom would surely to fall out on Peña were he to stay in the lineup much longer.

Francisco Cervelli has been called up from Double-A to take Molina’s spot on the bench. After losing most of last year to a broken arm, Cervelli now looks not unlike the catcher-version of Peña. He’s a strong defender, easily major league quality, with little to recommend him at the plate other than a good batting eye. Cervelli looked overmatched at the plate in his very brief September call-up last year, while playing for Italy in the WBC this March, and in spring training after Italy’s elimination from the tournament. The sample size is minuscule, of course, but the competition in each was something less than what he’s likely to see in the majors in May, and he went a combined 4-for-25 (.160) with just one extra base hit and, despite that good batting eye, just one walk across those three appearances. Thus far this year, he’s hitting just .190/.266/.310 for the Trenton Thunder.

Cervelli’s here because the top catcher at Triple-A Scranton, Chris Stewart, is hitting .178/.275/.200 and isn’t nearly as good behind the plate as Cervelli. Kevin Cash, who was supposed to be the third-string catcher, is on the DL with a shoulder injury of his own. I’m not particularly worried about the Yankees “rushing” the 23-year-old Cervelli because Jesus Montero is now just a level behind him at High-A Tampa and is crushing the ball. Montero’s defense is far from major-league-ready, if it ever well be, but he’s nipping at Cervelli’s heals. Peña has handled the jump to the majors wonderfully. Cervelli, who has a veteran disposition—despite his lack of production he was a clubhouse leader on Team Italy—seems as likely as anyone to do likewise.

One hidden aspect of Posada’s DL stay is that it will make the loss of Xavier Nady sting all the more. The Yankees haven’t suffered in right field since Nady’s injury because Nick Swisher has been on fire, hitting .300/.434/.688 on the season. Where the Yankees have missed Nady is in their limited pinch-hitting options late in close games. A three-man bench of Jose Molina, Angel Berroa, and Brett Gardner doesn’t offer Joe Girardi much in terms of late-game pop. That wouldn’t have mattered as much with both Rodriguez and Posada in the lineup, but with the hole at third moving to catcher, the Yankees will continue to long after a bench bat. All the more reason for them to use Rodriguez’s return as an excuse to designate Angel Berroa for assignment and purchase the contract of non-roster slugger Shelley Duncan, who is now hitting .347/.421/.716 with ten jacks for Scranton.

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I have three new pieces up on SI.com today as the lead part of a larger package on closers. In the first, I rank today’s closers from 1 to 30. In the second, I look at the resources teams are devoting to locking down the ninth inning. In the third, I take a look at how closers are made and point out some of the top closers-in-waiting around the game.

I’m sure many of you will be upset to learn I ranked Mariano Rivera a mere fourth out of the thirty closers. Here’s my comment on Mo:

The Great Rivera had perhaps his best season last year, converting 39 of 40 save chances while posting a 1.40 ERA and 0.67 WHIP. Since 2003, he has posted a 1.89 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and converted 91 percent of his save opportunities. He’s the greatest closer in the history of the game, but at 39 years old, he may only be the fourth-best closer in the game in 2009.

Who are the three closers I ranked above the Yankee great? Check it out.

Also included in the package is Tom Verducci’s list of the top 10 closers of all time (which includes two Yankees), and accompanying pieces on Joe Nathan by Steve Aschburner and Heath Bell by Ted Keith.

Here’s one of the classic routines of them all:

A real sentence spoken by a scout discussing a former colleague: “His written report was all bullsh*t, and that’s when I knew he was a horsesh*t guy.”

From Dollar Sign on the Muscle by Kevin Kerrane

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Here’s the soggy stories:

• Alex Rodriguez could be back as early as Friday:

“So much of it just depends on how he feels and when he believes he’s ready to go,” Girardi said. “I have not really put a date on it, because I want to see how he bounces back. It’s up to him. When he feels that he’s ready, we’re probably going to take him back.”

Rodriguez is scheduled to play another extended spring game on Tuesday, serving seven innings in the field as he makes his way back from March 9 right hip surgery to repair a torn labrum.

Rodriguez ran the bases on Monday but did not slide on dirt, and Girardi said that Rodriguez would not necessarily need to do so before being activated, since he has slid on a pad.

• There’s been a long reliever sighted in Yankee Stadium:

With inclement weather in the forecast for this week’s series against the Red Sox, the Yankees moved to recall right-hander Alfredo Aceves from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Monday, optioning right-hander Anthony Claggett in a corresponding move.

The Yankees spent most of Spring Training considering whether to select a long reliever from the group of Aceves, Dan Giese and Brett Tomko. In the end, New York took none of the three, choosing Jonathan Albaladejo instead.

Girardi said that Aceves, who was 2-0 with a 3.80 ERA at Triple-A, could stick with the Yankees, who could have used a long reliever in April on several occasions when they were forced to dip into their bullpen early in games.

“So much of it depends on who’s throwing the ball well,” Girardi said. “Ace was very successful when we called him up last year. We threw him a little bit out of the bullpen, and then he made some pretty good starts for us.

• Joba Chamberlain’s mother was arrested:

The mother of New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain has been arrested on charges of selling methamphetamine to an undercover police officer in February.

Jacqueline Standley was arrested at her apartment Saturday night, Lincoln Police Capt. David Beggs said Monday. . . .

Last month, Chamberlain pleaded guilty to drunken driving and was given nine months probation and a $400 fine for his October arrest.

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The Yankees waited through a two-hour-fifteen-minute rain delay last night to lose their fourth straight game to the Red Sox. Phil Hughes lacked the command of his pitches he had in his previous start and was out after using up 94 pitches and walking four in just four innings. The Sox built a picket fence against Hughes, scoring once in each of his frames. Alfredo Aceves, who was called up earlier in the day, appeared to lock things down from there, and the Yankees pulled within one by scoring three quick runs in the fifth after Joe Girardi got himself ejected for arguing a called third strike on Derek Jeter. Johnny Damon followed Girardi’s ejection with a two-run homer down the right-field line, and Mark Teixeira followed with a slump-busting solo homer into the visiting bullpen, but Jason Bay got two of those runs back with a two-run jack off Aceves in the seventh. Teixeira answered with a solo shot on the first pitch from Ramon Ramirez in the eighth, giving Tex switch-hit homers in consecutive at-bats, but both the ensuing rally in that inning and another in the ninth were quelled by Jonathan Papelbon and the Yanks fell 6-4.

Home plate umpire Jerry Meals wasn’t helping Hughes, which is one reason Girardi got himself tossed, but Jon Lester wasn’t bothered by the rain delay, the steady mist falling throughout the game, or the strikezone (which did appear to be a bit more accomidating when he was on the mound). He worked seven strong innings and tied a career high with 10 Ks. His only mistakes were the home runs by Damon and Teixeira, which suggests that Girardi’s stunt, prompted by his disapproval of Meals’ strikezone throughout the game to that point, temporarily unnerved the Boston lefty.

Adding injury to insult, Jorge Posada felt his right hamstring grab while running the bases in the sixth inning. He’ll have an MRI today and will not be in the lineup tonight as the Yankees try to save some face by sending Joba Chamberlain to the mound against Josh Beckett in the finale of this short, rain-threatened series.

It’s a soggy day in New York. Here in North Jersey, the rain was intermittent and largely stayed away this afternoon, but right now, roughly an hour before the scheduled first pitch of tonight’s game between the Yankees and Red Sox, it’s pouring. The Yankees have said they will try to play tonight, but it’s going to be messy if they do.

Since the Red Sox swept the Yankees in three games at Fenway the weekend before last, the Yankees have gone 4-2 against the Tigers and Angels, while the Sox pushed their winning streak to 11 games with a win last Monday but went a mere 3-4 against the Indians and Rays.

The Sox have made just one change to their roster since the Yanks were in Fenway. Julio Lugo has returned from rehabing his knee to replace Nick Green as the team’s shortstop and number-nine hitter. Green thus moves to the bench where he replaces Gil Velazquez. Given that Green as hitting .304/.371/.464, that’s actually a downgrade for Boston. Perhaps Terry Francona has realized this as Green has drawn the start tonight.

The Yankees, meanwhile, have thought better of recalling Anthony Claggett (who took the spot of the injured Damaso Marte before Sunday’s rain-out) and have farmed Claggett out for Alfredo Aceves. With rain expected nearly all week, this is likely a move made to give the Yanks a long reliever should an extended rain delay end a starters’ night early, but it’s the smarter move regardless of the weather. Aceves has pitched very well in his last two starts for Scranton Wilkes-Barre and showed a nice uptick in velocity in his short-relief outings for the big club last September. He’s worth having around, while Claggett is still trying to adjust to Triple-A. Aceves also gives the Yanks a less valuable alternate if they decide that the conditions for a given game are too dangerous to risk putting a more valuable and more fragile starter out there.

For now, however, they’re still going with Phil Hughes tonight. I, like most of you I’m sure, have been anxious to see Hughes get back on the bump following his fantastic start in Detroit (6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 99 pitches). The Hughes we saw in that start and his September 24 start against A.J. Burnett and the Blue Jays last year (8 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 100 pitches) is the Phil Hughes we were all so excited about before his hamstring tear in early 2007. He was pinpointing his 93 mile per hour heater, dropping in wicked 70 mph curves, and keeping hitters off balance and off base with his new high-80s cutter. It would have been preferable for him to start in yesterday’s relatively low-profile game (a Sunday afternoon against the Angels with the Yankees leading 2-1 in the series), but Hughes’s problems have always been physical, not mental. If he’s feeling good, I don’t expect he’ll be terribly disturbed by trying to break the Yankees’ season 0-fer against the rival Sox.

Boston counters with 25-year-old lefty Jon Lester, who held the Yankees to two runs over six innings at Fenway. Lester’s only start since then was a dud (6 IP, 5 R in Cleveland), but curiously his peripherals for both starts were identical (7 H, 3 BB, 7 K)with one large exception: the Yankees didn’t hit a home run off Lester, while the Indians stroked two. Just two of Lester’s five starts have been good ones, but he has struck out 23 men in 19 innings over his last three, so odds are he’s just shaking off some April rust. Last year, he had a 5.40 ERA after six starts, then went 15-4 with a 2.82 the rest of the way.

Nick Swisher (elbow) returns to the lineup to face Lester. Jorge Posada will DH with Jose Molina catching. Melky Cabrera’s in center and hitting seventh. Angel Berroa bats ninth as Joe Girardi continues to deny Ramiro Peña plate appearances against lefties (he has just two, a walk and a strikeout). Peña has been weaker against lefties than righties in his minor league career, but not significantly so (though it’s hard to tell given his poor hitting overall).

Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre

The Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees owned the International League in April, winning their first 11 games and finishing the month with an 18-3 record, but they could be in for a rough May given the state of their rotation. Phil Hughes (3-0, 1.86) is in the majors, and Ian Kennedy (1.59 ERA, 9.92 K/9),  is on the disabled list with vasospasms in his right-hand. After a surprisingly strong spring training, Kei Igawa has been awful in three of his four starts, and Jason Johnson, who never should have been in the rotation to start with, is on the DL and with a partially torn labrum. The only major league-ready starter left in Triple-A is thus Alfredo Aceves, though he’s been excellent in his last two starts, not allowing an earned run over 14 2/3 innings while striking out 12 and walking just two.

With three holes to fill in the Scranton rotation, Eric Hacker, who is on the 40-man roster, was called up from Double-A, though he was roughed up in his first two Triple-A starts. The Yanks hope for a smoother transition from George Kontos, who was off to a strong start in Double-A (2.66 ERA, 10.62 K/9) and was just promoted to Scranton this weekend. Veteran major league lefty and recent Mets castoff Casey Fossom is currently filling the third hole.

The major league team has pilfered two of Scranton’s best relievers, righties Mark Melancon (10 1/3 scoreless innings, 17 K) and David Robertson (0.00 ERA in 8 IP, 14 K), and with Damaso Marte hitting the disabled list, Anthony Claggett is also back in the Bronx. Claggett has been roughed up a bit in his Triple-A debut (4.26 ERA, 1.66 WHIP), but his 10:3 K/BB ratio in 12 2/3 innings is encouraging. The opposite is true for Steven Jackson, who spent an inactive week in the majors. Jackson has a 1.74 ERA, but just six Ks in 10 1/3 innings. Outperforming both Claggett and Jackson is Brett Tomko (0.75 ERA, 12 IP, 15 K), but having already added Jackson and Claggett to the 40-man roster, the Yankees would risk losing either were they to try to remove one to make room for Tomko, and both youngsters are more valuable for the long-term than the retreaded veteran.

With just three men on the major league bench, it’s a bit surprising to me that the Yankees haven’t called up an extra hitter, particularly with fan favorite Shelley Duncan flat-out raking once again (.356/.431/.711, 9 HR). I expect that when Alex Rodriguez returns, Angel Berroa will get designated for assignment, and Duncan will take Berroa’s spot on the 40- and 25-man rosters, giving the Yankees a lesser version of what they lost when Xavier Nady injured his elbow. Alternates to Shelly include fringy veteran outfileders Todd Linden (.361/.434/.608) and John Rodriguez (.313/.402/.525), both of whom have four homers. Those three outfielders split up very nicely with Duncan batting right-handed, Rodriguez batting left-handed, and Linden switch-hitting. First baseman and 40-man roster member Juan Miranda is hitting a solid .280/.355/.512 with five taters.

Not a candidate for a call up early this season is top prospect Austin Jackson, though he is off to a strong start, hitting .389/.464/.486. Jackson has stolen seven bases without being caught and leads the team with a pair of triples, but he has yet to hit a home run this season.

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Today’s news is powered by an interesting video montage of Marilyn Monroe and Joe D:

• Joe Girardi has a fever, and the only prescription is . . . fewer stories/books about Alex Rodriguez:

“I have some issues with it,” Girardi said. “It’s interesting that the book date got moved up now. And I get tired of answering these questions. I don’t understand why someone would write a book like this anyway.”

The book, “A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez,” was written by Selena Roberts of Sports Illustrated. It asserts that Rodriguez, the Yankees’ third baseman, used steroids at various times during his career and had human growth hormone in his possession when he played for the Yankees in 2004.

“From the excerpts I have read, I have heard that there are other negative things about his lifestyle,” Girardi said. “I’m a firm believer that what we do off the field is our personal life.”

• A-Rod is going to be under an MLB-authorized microscope:

Major League Baseball is investigating Alex Rodriguez’s statements about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, increasing the pressure on the New York Yankees star ahead of an unflattering biography due out on Monday.

Rodriguez admitted in February to using steroids while with the Texas Rangers from 2001-03, but insisted he stopped before he was traded to the Yankees in February 2004. But the Daily News reported on Thursday that Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts’ upcoming book “A-Rod” says he may have used steroids as early as high school and even after he was acquired by New York.

Roberts was contacted by one of MLB’s investigators on Friday but she told him she couldn’t cooperate with its inquiry, according to The New York Times report.

“I said that as a journalist, I cover MLB, and cooperating with them on this would be a conflict of interest, and he said that he understood the position that I am in,” Roberts told the newspaper.

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If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?

“Pilgrims” and “Hayfever” are acceptable answers but, also: rainouts. The Yankees and Angels postponed the fourth game of their series today; no makeup date announced yet, and it was the Angels’ only trip to the city this year, so I guess they’ll have to get a little creative. Mets-Phils were rained out too but Boston and Tampa are playing on TBS if you need a fix.

Phil Hughes makes his second start of the year this afternoon as the Yanks go for the series win on a damp day in the Bronx.  The talented southpaw Joe Saunders goes for the Angels.

I’m a miss the start of the game on the count of I’m a be eating.  A bona fide feast as Spicoli would say. 

My mom and step-father are coming into town and along with my siblings we’re headed down to our cousin Julie’s restaurant Little Giant for brunch.  Julie is married to our cousin Ben, who also works in the food business, and her restaurant is beyond yummy.  It’s comfort food made fancy.  Or as Julie once said a “blue-jeans approach to high-end dining.”

Like for instance, at brunch you can get a duck confit BLT on Sullivan Street stecca bread.  Or Emily’s favorite, the baked French Toast, which comes with carmelized bananas, banana gelato, toffee sauce, and maple syrup. Did I leave anything out? Oh yeah, the powdered sugar. And a chin strap. 

Sides include Grafton Chedder grits, or duck fat roasted herb potatoes.  And the “world famous” buttermilk-chive biscuts? 

Dag, I say, DAG son.

Two, Three, Four:

Mmm, Mmm Good!

It often seems like the Yankees just can’t hit rookie pitchers they’ve never faced before (a phenomenon I once dubbed getting “URPed” by an Unfamiliar Rookie Pitcher). That’s more perception than reality. As recently as Tuesday night, they touched up 20-year-old Tigers rookie Rick Porcello for six runs in 3 2/3 innings. At the conclusion of their last homestand, they scored five runs in 5 1/3 innings against 21-year-old A’s prospect Brett Anderson. They also scored four runs in five innings against Orioles rookie Alfredo Simon in the last game of their season-opening series in Baltimore. Such performances tend not to stick in our memories because they conform to our expectations; we expect the Yankees to beat up on the fresh-faced kids straight out of the minors, which is exactly why it really eats us up when they don’t.

Angels starter Matt Palmer is no fresh-faced kid at 30-years-old, nor is he a highly-touted prospect like Porcello or Anderson, but he is a rookie, and one the Yankees had never faced before this afternoon’s game. He’s also one the Yankees didn’t hit.

Palmer doesn’t have great stuff, but he was able to mix up his speeds and locations enough this afternoon to keep the hot Yankee bats off balance. He snapped Robinson Cano’s 18-game hitting streak and held the Yanks to one run on three hits and two walks over 6 1/3 innings, compensating for his dearth of strikeouts (two) with a fair number of groundballs (10).

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The Yankees have won four in a row, their last five at home, and two of their last three home games three via walk-off hits. Just three teams in the American League have a better record than the Bombers entering this afternoon’s action (of course, two of them, the Red Sox and overachieving Blue Jays, are in the AL East).

Coming off last night’s thrilling comeback, the Yankees send ace CC Sabathia to the mound today to face 30-year-old rookie right-hander Matt Palmer. Palmer, who spent seven years in the Giants’ organization prior to joining the Angels this year, is making just his fifth major league start. He went 0-2 with a 8.53 ERA in three starts for the Giants last year and gave up five runs (four earned) in six innings against the Tigers in his only previous start this season. He walked three in that game against just one strikeout, though he also picked up the win thanks to ten runs of support.

Sabathia was excellent in his last start save for one ugly inning in which he gave up three runs. Still, he needed just 99 pitches to complete eight innings while striking out seven and walking none. Sabathia shook off his early struggles at this point last season. He also dominated the Angels the last time he faced them (two starts in 2007: 1.12 ERA over 16 innings). Here’s hoping the pitching matchup lives up to its apparent lopsidedness.

Nick Swisher gets the day off after having been hit in the elbow with a pitch last night. His x-rays were negative (which is positive) and he is day-to-day. Melky Cabrera moves to right field with Brett Gardner, who singled and walked in three trips last night, taking over in center. Last night’s hero, Jorge Posada, gets the day-game after the night-game off, leaving the catching duties to Jose Molina, who is 5-for-12 with two walks and a grand slam in his last four starts.

I guess we can call it one of the benefits of living in Cooperstown. The great Henry Aaron visited the Hall of Fame last weekend to commemorate a new exhibit detailing his life and career in baseball. Aaron becomes just the second man to have an entire room dedicated to him at the Hall, joining Babe Ruth in that exclusive club. When a Milwaukee reporter asked Aaron how he felt about being put on the same level as Ruth, he did not opt for a modest answer based on political correctness. “It means I’m supposed to be on the same platform [as Ruth],” Aaron told the reporter. “I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished.”

I can’t disagree with Aaron, who overcame a childhood filled with poverty to become one of the game’s legends. While “Hammerin’ Hank” was not the equal of The Babe—no one is—he is unquestionably one of the all-time greats. Still the major league career leader in RBIs and total bases, Aaron was a phenomenal five-tool talent who excelled in every important area. He also deserves extra credit for breaking Ruth’s home run record under the extraordinary duress of racial hatred. Aaron and his family received horrific threats, both in the form of venomous phone calls and vicious hate mail. His sustained excellence in 1973 and 1974, when he was chasing the record and ultimately breaking it, is impressive enough on the surface; it becomes even more pronounced in view of the emotional distress and genuine concerns for his safety.

Unfortunately, Aaron was subjected to racial torment at various times in his career, especially at the beginning and the end. As a minor leaguer developing in the Milwaukee Braves’ farm system, Aaron received an assignment to report to Jacksonville of the South Atlantic League. He and two of his teammates made history, integrating the previously all-white league while dodging the race baiters. “We had three black players on that team,” Aaron told a capacity crowd in the Hall of Fame’s Grandstand Theater. “I had a very good year. I led the league in everything but hotel accommodations.”

Not only did Aaron and his two black teammates have to endure the embarrassment of staying in separate hotels and eating in different restaurants; they had to endure uncivil behavior at the games. “The problem we had was with spectators. We had a rough time in the South. It got ridiculous. At some ballparks, we could not dress in the clubhouse. If you went 0-for-4, the fans would throw bananas at us.

“We used to talk about how silly people can really be when all we wanted to do was play ball. The thing that made me succeed more was how hateful they were.”

The hatred certainly did not stop Aaron. It did not prevent him from breaking a wide-ranging set of records. Some would say he is the greatest living player. Is he at the top of the list? Maybe, maybe not. Willie Mays has his supporters, as does Barry Bonds. But at the very least, Aaron deserves to be in the argument. For someone who overcame so much racism and poverty, that’s a pretty good legacy to have…

Not only did the Yankees do the right thing in reducing the prices of some of their high-end box seats, they did the smart thing. In this case, let’s refer to the “Empty Seat Syndrome.” Empty seats are the worst thing that can happen to a professional sports team. Empty seats don’t buy concession items. Empty seats don’t buy souvenirs or memorabilia. Empty seats don’t tell their friends about their wonderful experiences at the ballpark. On top of all that, empty seats just look bad, especially when they are located so close to the playing field. When a team is coming off back-to-back seasons of four million fans in paid attendance, there is no excuse for not filling the ballpark—especially a new one that has so many improvements over the old house—on a regular basis. Hopefully, the Yankees have learned their lesson…

As long as Joe Girardi keeps using Jorge Posada as a DH on days when he does not catch, the Yankees will continue to need a third catcher. (Anything would be more useful than a 13th pitcher.) Otherwise, Girardi will find himself strapped in the late innings, unable to pinch-hit or pinch-run for Jose Molina. One potential pickup is Brayan Pena, a switch-hitting catcher who was designated for assignment by the Royals last weekend. The 27-year-old Pena is a rare breed in 2009: a backup catcher who can hit and who carries enough versatility to fill in at third base or first base. As a player who has been DFAed (designated for assignment), Pena will cost almost nothing in a trade, assuming that he is not waived or given his outright release.

Bruce Markusen, who writes “Cooperstown Confidential” for MLBlogs at MLB.com, can be reached via email at bmarkusen@stny.rr.com.

Welcome to Saturday at the Banter!

• Nick Swisher got nailed on the elbow with a pitch Friday night:

X-rays were negative and Swisher is listed as day-to-day, though Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he would be surprised if Swisher took the field Saturday.

“He got hit right behind the elbow, and that can be an extremely tender spot,” Girardi said. “He’s day-to-day. I’d probably be surprised if he can play [Saturday], but we’ll see.”

• As Mark Teixeira faces his ex-Angels teammates for the first time, he reflects on the off-season negotiations:

Teixeira called his Angels tenure “the best 2 1/2 months of my career,” though the ending wasn’t storybook. A team that led the major leagues with 100 wins and was favored to reach the World Series lost to the Red Sox in the first round.

“I sat and cried at my locker after that last game in Boston because I knew that was a special group, I knew how good a chance we had, and we let it slip away,” Teixeira said.

“After the season, my wife and I stayed in L.A. for 10 days. I thought there was a really good chance I’d be back. It would be different if my family or my wife’s family was from the West Coast.”

But Teixeira’s parents live in Baltimore, and his wife’s parents live in Atlanta. Their proximity to New York, combined with the Yankees’ top-dollar offer, persuaded Teixeira.

“I’m a businessman, too, and in the end, the Yankees made the best offer, and it was the best situation for my family,” Teixeira said. ” . . . I get to see my parents every week I’m home, and they get to see their grandkids. That’s pretty special.”

• Johnny Damon would like to be back with the Bombers next year, but sees the writing on the wall:

Damon said the numbers game in the Yankees outfield does not bode well for him. Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner are in center, Nick Swisher and Xavier Nady — who will also be a free agent and is currently on the DL — in right and the team’s top prospect, Austin Jackson, lighting up Triple-A.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman has spoken about making the Yankees younger.

“I know where I want to be next year,” Damon told 1050 ESPN New York. “I want to be here in New York. I also know New York has a lot of young outfielders coming back. Austin Jackson is in the wings. At least, in this situation, I know my chances of coming back could be slim because of the young talent the Yankees do have.”

• Prices for Yankee tickets on the secondary market are falling fast:

The price of New York Yankees tickets on the resale market plummeted this week following the team’s decision to give free extra seats to people who bought the team’s priciest season plans.

Legends Suite seats for Friday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels that originally sold for $500 could be had for $144 shortly before 5 p.m. on StubHub.com. Legends seats in section 16, row 9, behind the first-base dugout were available for $199, down from their $850 original price.

All the sharp discounting wasn’t just among the Legends seats, which include access to three restaurants and lounges with free food and soft drinks. Field level seats to the plate side of the first-base dugout could be had for $50, down from their $325 price as part of season tickets.

“We’re seeing an unprecedented number of season-ticket holders selling. The market has been flooded. It is a buyer’s market for baseball fans,” said Mike Janes, chief executive officer of FanSnap.com, an Internet search engine that finds tickets on resale sites.

(more…)

The great blinking slot machine that is the new Yankee Stadium is no friend to weak pitching. Even good pitching is at risk in what has proved thus far to be a carnival for offense. A side show. In fact, it’s a safe bet that we’ll see our fair share of comeback wins and heart-breaking loses at the bandbox in the Bronx this season, the park where no lead is safe.

On a rainy and humid Friday night, the Angels bullpen was worse than the Yankee bullpen for a second-straight game, and the Bombers overcome a five-run hole to win it, 9-8. Jorge Posada’s two-run single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth sealed the deal.

Andy Pettitte was fine early on even though the Angels reached base steadily. Once it started to rain, however, Pettitte lost his stride, the Angels began to score, and Pettitte didn’t make it through what turned out to be an unsightly sixth inning. The Yanks kicked the ball around and by the time the third out was made, a 4-0 New York lead became a 6-4 deficit. The Angels, hitting line drives and scooting around the bases are is their wont, held a 9-4 lead going into the eighth.

But the Yanks scrapped back, just as they did last Saturday in Boston. Melky Cabrera had an RBI single, Kid Pena drove in two, and Derek Jeter had an RBI ground out to bring the Yanks to within one in the eighth. Then in the ninth, Mark Teixeira walked against the Angels’ closer Brian Fuentes to start the inning. Hideki Matsui slapped a single to left and Robinson Cano belted one up the middle to load ’em up. Posada’s single to left won it.

Let’s all applaud again, let’s all applaud again.

Nice comeback win for the Bombers.